There are so many big sells for the 1955 musical It’s Always Fair Weather. Firstly, the golden pairing of Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen is the key factor. The musical maestros behind such great heavy hitters such as Singing in the Rain (1952) and On the Town (1949) return for another outing, promising an exquisite smorgasbord of dancing and colour.

The other interest in this musical is that it is an MGM musical. That means all the scintillating scenes of the spectrum on the screen. A nouvelle advancement here is It’s Always Fair Weather is shot in CinemaScope and, instead of Technicolor, it is filmed in brilliant Eastmancolor.

Plus, seeing the original 1955 print, as the filmmakers intended, thanks to the BFI Film on Film festival made It’s Always Fair Weather a must-see outing.

So, one heads into It’s Always Fair Weather with all this in mind and comes away with one name – Dolores Gray…

…and the fact that instead of the glory of Singin’ in the Rain, It’s Always Fair Weather is resplendently cynical and witty.

It’s Always Fair Weather revolves around a trio of soldiers – Ted, Doug, and Angie – who, despite the drudgery and violence of the war, have become best pals. Following one final night together, the three promise to meet in ten years at the same bar and part ways. They keep that promise, but when they meet in 1955, they find that they aren’t the same men they used to be. In fact, they downright hate one another. Enter a night of absolute hijinks involving drunken tirades, the murky world of boxing, and betting, and a volatile late-night talk show host.

One may be a bit despairing in the opening ten minutes of the film. After all, one has expected a franker Gene Kelly movie and yet are treated to a plucky army number. It is followed by an even pluckier, if albeit, wonderfully toe-tapping drunken dance piece throughout the streets of New York. Yet as crowd-pleasing as this opener is already tinged with uncertainty. As the men depart for their lives, there is the looming possibilities of post-war civilian life, and not all of them are good.

Flashforward to 1955, and those not-so-good prospects are actually what bloomed into fruition. Wannabe artist Doug is producing cartoons in advertising and is on the verge of divorce, chef Angie runs a road-side dinner with his multitude of kids, and Ted is a gambler. Though they are initially excited about meeting up again, it soon becomes apparent that they not only dislike each other, but they dislike the men that they’ve become. This is all encapsulated in a brilliant musical moment where the song is song entirely as an internal monologue.

This is where It’s Always Fair Weather begins to shine because any adult person can tell you that sometimes catching up with old friends isn’t everything you have dreamed. In fact, it can be strained, awkward, and unforgiving. As Ted, Doug, and Angie realise that their friends hadn’t accomplished everything they dreamed of becoming, the three also slowly realise that their own lives aren’t what they hoped it would be. Afraid to show this insecurity, they instead resort to torts and taunts at one another.

This sarcastic edge could hamper proceedings but Kelly and Donen direct the film with aplomb. It revels in this disaster of an evening that is only made worse when TV executives come in and try to monopolise on what should’ve been a tear-jerking moment. Because if there is something that this movie is more sneering about, it is television and advertising. Just think of all those moments we are bombarded through now by social media companies – there is not one tear-jerking moment that isn’t recorded and beamed to our phones for all of us to cry about how heart-felt it is. So, one can understand why, back when Television was taking over the globe, movie starlets such as Gene Kelly would strike back at its clear carousing in capitalism and consumerism.

Enter Dolores Gray as the pepped up, perky, and petulant TV host Madeline Bradville whose show is sponsored by suds company Klenzrite. Utilising the enter CinemaScope screen with a simple stretch of her hands and strained smile, Madeline will do everything to be top of television and get the ratings. This includes a jaunty number called Thanks but No Thanks where she assassinates a number of dancing suitors by rockets and guns. It includes utilising a rough, fisticuff brawl to sell product and, most importantly, herself. Grey’s grinning maniacal presenter is scene-stealing

With Cyd Charisse sashaying in as Ted’s headstrong love interest Jackie Leighton, and a gleeful, effortless number with Gene Kelly on roller-skates, It’s Always Fair Weather is a captivating MGM musical. Though it starts rocky, it is a film that gets better as it goes on, whilst utilising the EastermanColor grading and the Cinemascope to dazzling effect. It revels in both the magic of musicals and caustic cynicism.

It’s Always Fair Weather may have been a commercial flop at the time but thanks to its presentation at Film on Film, it has earned a host of new fans. Especially Dolores Gray.

Check out the BFI’s Film on Film season and much more here.